Passed final round interviews at MBB but no offer

I recently passed my final round interviews with an MBB for an experienced hire role and have been told the feedback was positive and that the partners want me onboard.

However, due to a limitation in the number of people that can be hired this month/quarter by the practice (non covid-19 related limit), they were unable to extend me an offer. I have been told that after the next meeting where approvals for roles that they advertise are made, they will extend me an offer as long as finance approve this role. I have also been told that this is the only hurdle to getting the offer. However, this may take up to 2 months for the approval meeting to happen etc.

I was looking for some additional insight into this process, and for tips on how I can maximise my chance of getting an offer. Would getting in touch with the partners help so that they don't forget me?

Many Thanks

Hello,

I recently passed my final round interviews with an MBB for an experienced hire role and have been told the feedback was positive and that the partners want me onboard.

However, due to a limitation in the number of people that can be hired this month/quarter by the practice (non covid-19 related limit), they were unable to extend me an offer. I have been told that after the next meeting where approvals for roles that they advertise are made, they will extend me an offer as long as finance approve this role. I have also been told that this is the only hurdle to getting the offer. However, this may take up to 2 months for the approval meeting to happen etc.

I was looking for some additional insight into this process, and for tips on how I can maximise my chance of getting an offer. Would getting in touch with the partners help so that they don't forget me?

I had not heard about any of these cases happening in MBB, but we just had one of these in Amazon.

The candidate interviewed just fine but the position was filled, hence you have a candidate who should have an offer but no vacant job.

I would trust them, and I believe should be solved in a matter of weeks. For Amazon at least, when they say something like this, they mean it, it´s not one of these cases in which you will never hear back.

Hope it helps!

Cheers,

Clara

Hello!

Sorry to hear about this, I can imagine your frustration.

I had not heard about any of these cases happening in MBB, but we just had one of these in Amazon.

The candidate interviewed just fine but the position was filled, hence you have a candidate who should have an offer but no vacant job.

I would trust them, and I believe should be solved in a matter of weeks. For Amazon at least, when they say something like this, they mean it, it´s not one of these cases in which you will never hear back.

Really sorry to hear about this situation it must be devastating after all the hard work and getting through the process successfully... I have a few things I would recommend you to do:

1. Follow-up at regular intervals - make sure that you are contacting them at the set timelines to make sure you stay top of their mind and you are the first to secure your offer when things open up again

2. Have a backup plan - Ensure this is not the only job opportunity that you have but continue your job search in other roles and companies that fit your interests. We do not know how long this situation will continue and the real impact of COVID-19 on the economy is still not clear.

3. Don't take it personally - This is really an unprecedented situation for which there are no frameworks. Stay strong and continue looking for other opportunities and things will work out for somebody of your caliber!

Best,
A

Hi!

Really sorry to hear about this situation it must be devastating after all the hard work and getting through the process successfully... I have a few things I would recommend you to do:

1. Follow-up at regular intervals - make sure that you are contacting them at the set timelines to make sure you stay top of their mind and you are the first to secure your offer when things open up again

2. Have a backup plan - Ensure this is not the only job opportunity that you have but continue your job search in other roles and companies that fit your interests. We do not know how long this situation will continue and the real impact of COVID-19 on the economy is still not clear.

3. Don't take it personally - This is really an unprecedented situation for which there are no frameworks. Stay strong and continue looking for other opportunities and things will work out for somebody of your caliber!

Congratulations on passing, but sorry to hear about the complications.

I would never just trust!! - first, people are people (i.e. forgetful) and second, business is business (i.e. prioritize $)

I would recommend the following:

1) Followup at every checkpoint (i.e. if they tell you the approval meeting will happen in 2 months, followup then)

2) Apply for other jobs - we just don't know in these times. Not only would it provide you with a backup, but letting them know you have an offer (only if you really do) might lead them to prioritize your onboarding.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Hi there,

Congratulations on passing, but sorry to hear about the complications.

I would never just trust!! - first, people are people (i.e. forgetful) and second, business is business (i.e. prioritize $)

I would recommend the following:

1) Followup at every checkpoint (i.e. if they tell you the approval meeting will happen in 2 months, followup then)

2) Apply for other jobs - we just don't know in these times. Not only would it provide you with a backup, but letting them know you have an offer (only if you really do) might lead them to prioritize your onboarding.

Sorry to hear that. This year has been a particular tough year. I have recently heard another story of someone passed BCG China interview but due to the COVID impact BCG couldn't extend an offer in the coming months.

I guess it is out of your hands now. What you can do while waiting for them to clear the process, is indeed like you mentioned, to follow up once in a while with the partners and keep yourself on their radar.

Good luck,

Emily

hey there,

Sorry to hear that. This year has been a particular tough year. I have recently heard another story of someone passed BCG China interview but due to the COVID impact BCG couldn't extend an offer in the coming months.

I guess it is out of your hands now. What you can do while waiting for them to clear the process, is indeed like you mentioned, to follow up once in a while with the partners and keep yourself on their radar.

In these uncertain times, until you sign the offer and join the firm, don't take anything for granted. Continue to project yourself as a candidate who is promising and the one that the firm wants to hire.

What has happened in your case has not happened first time, neither it is the last time. When firms themseves come under extreme financial pressure, they need to be extra cautious and sometimes need to take tough calls. During dot com bubble burst, during financial crisis several consulting companies faced difficulties and had to act tough on recruitment side.

What you need to think about is what is in your hand at this point of time? I am only talking about your current MBB candidature. Don't want to talk about you staying strong, continue applying to other firms, don't quit your current job etc. I know you will do those things.

At this point of time, you have few stakeholders who are inside the system, who can contribute to the pitch to hire you. Be in touch with them and showcase your interest, eagerness and openness.

Some of the conversations that you might want to have are:

- Call with the recruitment manager to uderstand the situation and process thoroughly. Understand what exactly is the process, who takes the final call, what are the different results possible in your case, has there been any precedence of case like this one.

- Call with someone who has referred you/ someone senior that you know in the firm. Explain him the situation and take his advice. Ask him if you can do anything from your side to increase the strength of your candidature. Ask him if there are any possibilities (if you are open to them) that you should talk about with hiring partner )e.g. Joining at a grade below, joining in different team etc. If yes, then what is the good time to have that discussion with the hiring partner

- Call with the hiring partner. I think one call with the hiring partner before the 'decision meeting' happens is a must. You need to explain him your situation and openly discuss the possibilities you are open for, off course stressing the point that you are interested, eager to contribute. Give him everything that he needs to pitch you as strongly as possible.

This is how I would handle the situation.

Having said that, I can imagine what you must be going through. After having cracked the interview process, an uncertainty about job offer must be making you anxious. However, do take this situation as your first consulting project, think in a structured way and take an action. I am sure you will do good.

All the best!

GB

In these uncertain times, until you sign the offer and join the firm, don't take anything for granted. Continue to project yourself as a candidate who is promising and the one that the firm wants to hire.

What has happened in your case has not happened first time, neither it is the last time. When firms themseves come under extreme financial pressure, they need to be extra cautious and sometimes need to take tough calls. During dot com bubble burst, during financial crisis several consulting companies faced difficulties and had to act tough on recruitment side.

What you need to think about is what is in your hand at this point of time? I am only talking about your current MBB candidature. Don't want to talk about you staying strong, continue applying to other firms, don't quit your current job etc. I know you will do those things.

At this point of time, you have few stakeholders who are inside the system, who can contribute to the pitch to hire you. Be in touch with them and showcase your interest, eagerness and openness.

Some of the conversations that you might want to have are:

- Call with the recruitment manager to uderstand the situation and process thoroughly. Understand what exactly is the process, who takes the final call, what are the different results possible in your case, has there been any precedence of case like this one.

- Call with someone who has referred you/ someone senior that you know in the firm. Explain him the situation and take his advice. Ask him if you can do anything from your side to increase the strength of your candidature. Ask him if there are any possibilities (if you are open to them) that you should talk about with hiring partner )e.g. Joining at a grade below, joining in different team etc. If yes, then what is the good time to have that discussion with the hiring partner

- Call with the hiring partner. I think one call with the hiring partner before the 'decision meeting' happens is a must. You need to explain him your situation and openly discuss the possibilities you are open for, off course stressing the point that you are interested, eager to contribute. Give him everything that he needs to pitch you as strongly as possible.

This is how I would handle the situation.

Having said that, I can imagine what you must be going through. After having cracked the interview process, an uncertainty about job offer must be making you anxious. However, do take this situation as your first consulting project, think in a structured way and take an action. I am sure you will do good.

Congratulations on doing great at the interview. The toughest part is over and at this point, don't stress about the offer. You are not alone in this situation.

The recruitment currently on hold as MBB are in a wait and watch mode before extending the offers and hiring more consultants. There are simply not enough cases to justify hiring a new consultant and then not being able to staff. Just stay in touch with HR and keep fingers crossed that business certainity improves soon

Hi,

Congratulations on doing great at the interview. The toughest part is over and at this point, don't stress about the offer. You are not alone in this situation.

The recruitment currently on hold as MBB are in a wait and watch mode before extending the offers and hiring more consultants. There are simply not enough cases to justify hiring a new consultant and then not being able to staff. Just stay in touch with HR and keep fingers crossed that business certainity improves soon

First of all, my congratulation for passing all your interview rounds at MBB. Currently, I would say that you need some patience before the final decision is done. Actually, I would recommend you two things: (1) stay in touch with HR and follow-up regularly to figure out current status; reaching out to partners directly won't make any sense at the moment. (2) arrange Plan B and to other companies in order to get second best option and get the offers from them.

Hope it helps,

Wish you good luck,

André

Dear A,

First of all, my congratulation for passing all your interview rounds at MBB. Currently, I would say that you need some patience before the final decision is done. Actually, I would recommend you two things: (1) stay in touch with HR and follow-up regularly to figure out current status; reaching out to partners directly won't make any sense at the moment. (2) arrange Plan B and to other companies in order to get second best option and get the offers from them.

Congratulations for strong performance in the first place - but sorry to hear the outcome in conjunction with business constraints.

At last, also consulting firms are profit-oriented companies and partners also want to maximize their income ... but with a good balance with middle-term outlook.

Especially for experienced hires with a highly specific skillset it's often the case that they are hired in the light of existing/starting projects which need to be staffed. If that one slot is filled up already, there might not be a direct need for your skill-set (especially in conjunction with current unpredictable COVID-situation .. it was usually handled differently in the good old times but that does not help us anymore..).

Since partners express still a high level of interest, I would try to focus on defining some checkpoints with them .. which gives you the opportunity to follow-up on those dates with a good reason.

Alltogether, the situation does not look to bad, but at the same time I would not recommend to put all your hopes in a positive answer further down the road. Unless you are in a hurry to switch jobs, I'd wait for a couple of months with regular follow-up intervals and see how it is developing - but that's all I can think of what you can still do for now.

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Robert

Hi Anonymous,

Congratulations for strong performance in the first place - but sorry to hear the outcome in conjunction with business constraints.

At last, also consulting firms are profit-oriented companies and partners also want to maximize their income ... but with a good balance with middle-term outlook.

Especially for experienced hires with a highly specific skillset it's often the case that they are hired in the light of existing/starting projects which need to be staffed. If that one slot is filled up already, there might not be a direct need for your skill-set (especially in conjunction with current unpredictable COVID-situation .. it was usually handled differently in the good old times but that does not help us anymore..).

Since partners express still a high level of interest, I would try to focus on defining some checkpoints with them .. which gives you the opportunity to follow-up on those dates with a good reason.

Alltogether, the situation does not look to bad, but at the same time I would not recommend to put all your hopes in a positive answer further down the road. Unless you are in a hurry to switch jobs, I'd wait for a couple of months with regular follow-up intervals and see how it is developing - but that's all I can think of what you can still do for now.

Hope that helps - if so, please be so kind and give it a thumbs-up with the green upvote button below!

Sorry to hear that. It can be pretty frustrating to do all the hard work and then not see the fruits materialize. You are not alone and this is not a rare case. Across the board companies have been freezing their hiring for Q2 and this is a reflection of the high level of uncertainty around us.

I agree with Axel's approach. Make sure you follow up every few weeks and definitely work on a backup plan. While it is likely an offer will be made, it is much better to plan for the scenario where this is not the case so you can be prepared for all outcomes.

All the best, I hope it works out soon

Udayan

Sorry to hear that. It can be pretty frustrating to do all the hard work and then not see the fruits materialize. You are not alone and this is not a rare case. Across the board companies have been freezing their hiring for Q2 and this is a reflection of the high level of uncertainty around us.

I agree with Axel's approach. Make sure you follow up every few weeks and definitely work on a backup plan. While it is likely an offer will be made, it is much better to plan for the scenario where this is not the case so you can be prepared for all outcomes.

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